Moved into a new home 18 months ago

We kept getting post for the previous owner, which we would forward on.

Anyway after six months or so, the previous owner calls us up saying not to forward any more post to MR. A, as its her X and she does not have a forwarding address for him.

So since then we have been writing on the post that comes for him, “return to sender, no longer lives at this address”

Been keeping logs of all the post we have been returning, anyway I don’t think the post is being returned, or the sender is not taking notice. We keep getting the same letter sent to us again!

What other options do we have?

I assume its illegal to open post that is not addressed to you, but uses your address?

I fear some of them are debit chasing?

Don’t want bailiffs knocking on my door!

Ta,

We’ve had some ropey stuff delivered to us from previous owners for whom we have no forwarding address. We either open it and bin it or leave it out on the pavement as a lucky dip for passers by.

The wording from the Postal Services Act 2000 is:
“A person commits an offence if, intending to act to a person’s detriment and without reasonable excuse, he opens a postal packet which he knows or reasonably suspects has been incorrectly delivered to him”

So not really unless you’re doing it deliberately to screw over someone :p Personally I’d open it, it’s not like anyone would even know you’ve done it let alone want to prosecute you for it.

After moving in to this house I too did the decent thing like you have done. A few weeks later two little tatoo’d bulldogs came a knocking and tried to clamp my car whilst a van parked up next to them wanted to empty my house of it’s contents.
It got ugly (bailiffs weren’t interested that I wasn’t the previous occupier and said, rather smugly, that if I proved my identity after they’d took my belongings I could come to their warehouse and get my stuff back!!!
I opted for the easy way and decked the little hitler whilst his mate phoned the cops. Cops arrived and took one look at the thugs and told them that in future they need to be accompanied by a uniformed police officer.

After all that I open every letter that comes through my letterbox. The fraudulant couple that lived here previously have more aliases than I can remember.

It’s not the Royal Mail, it’s the originator of the mail not updating their database – a lot of companies just bin the RTS mail.
If you are really bothered by it, I would open it (assuming it’s not obvious who the sender is) and ring the sender and ask them to update their database.

It’s not the Royal Mail, it’s the originator of the mail not updating their database – a lot of companies just bin the RTS mail.
If you are really bothered by it, I would open it (assuming it’s not obvious who the sender is) and ring the sender and ask them to update their database.

Yea, this is what I think is happening. I spoke to the post office for their advice, which was to keep returning it to the sender, they could only advice me to get legal advice as to what other options I had – wtf!

ring the sender and ask them to update their database.

I also tried that, MrsFlash, but the loansharks/debters just assumed that I was the guilty occupier trying to fob them off and as a result I still received the mail.
Still worth a try I guess but in my case they owed tens of thousands and my attempts fell on deaf ears.

I have a similar problem, compounded by the fact that there is someone else with the same postcode and house number in my area, so I get post for both. On contacting the RM they say “nothing we can do”. So now I bin it all.

On a slightly different tack.

If one of the letters was from a Bailiff Co. and they decided to come chasing the debit at my address, what options do I have then?

Would being able to prove my identity as the new home owner be of any use, or would they still try getting in and taking my bike?

😉

we had bailifs after the last people here. Iirc I wrote to them and sent a copy of something that proved we were at the address and not the old people.

We had bailiffs after a previous occupant of our flat at one point, but as far as I remember, I just referred them to the electoral roll and they gave up – I don’t know if there was a date of entry on the roll that convinced them, or something…

If bailiffs did turn up whatever you don’t let them inside (and close any open windows…), once they get in legally once they are allowed to gain entry by force on subsequent visits. Oh and don’t sign anything…

If a letter is sent back ‘return to sender’ and it doesn’t have a return address on the outside of the envelope it goes into ‘confidential waste’ which eventually is incinerated. The only letters (without a visible return address) that get opened and checked for a return address are those with a postage stamp on it, so in future, if you do mark anything ‘not at this address’ or ‘return to sender’ and so on, make sure it has a return address on it by opening it if need be.

Our delivery office handles the returns for Damart, and trust me, there is no way that their database gets updated. We are talking hundreds and hundreds of catalogues returned on a daily basis.

If you rent the house and a letter comes addressed to the landlord, and then another one best to open them,as they may not be paying the mortgage,and the house may be repossed, youll be out on the street, within a few days,and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it, sadly.

I had this after buying a house from a builder.
11pm one night there’s two very big leather jacket clad blokes at the door & a big merc with its engine running behind them. I shat myself. They much appreciated me passing them his forwarding address. Christ knows what he owed them but I’d not have liked them after me.
Had numerous Ballif visits after that, took 2 yrs for it all to blow over. Had no problems with opening his mail, the **** was still trying to get loans etc with my address.